Mojo Music & Media has acquired a series of separate catalogs that collectively include 30 chart hits spanning seven decades, from the 1950s to the 2010s.
The deals, with 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Warren Cuccurullo, Teddy Sky, Bruce Belland, Omar Lyefook, Anthony Improgo and Blake Healy, include the rights to songs such as Missing Persons. Destination unknownby Duran Duran ordinary world, Jennifer Lopez’ On the floor, The four preparations 26 miles (Santa Catalina)Omar’s There’s nothing like it and the metro station Shake it.
Mojo Music was founded by Spirit Music Group founder Mark Fried, former Spirit senior vice president Peter Shane and Alan Wallis, a former Ernst & Young director.
The company’s catalog has over 20,000 songs and includes 700 charted hits.
Warren Cuccurullo, songwriter and guitarist, got his start with Frank Zappa, co-founded the New Wave rock band Missing Persons with Dale and Terry Bozzio, then joined Duran Duran.
Mojo says it has acquired all of its songwriter and publishing rights, as well as artist royalties and neighboring rights.
Catalog reflects all of Missing Persons 80s pop hits Words and Ddestination unknown as well as the breakout single mental hopscotch, Give and blow I can’t think of Dancin.
In addition to acquiring the catalog, Mojo also signed a term contract to manage and promote Cuccurullo’s solo work.
The deal with Los Angeles-based Brazilian-born writer/producer Geraldo Sandell aka Teddy Sky, a songwriter in the 2010s, allowed Mojo to acquire all of his songwriting interests and editor, including Jennifer Lopez’s success on the dancefloor with Pitbull, On the floor as well as dance hits DadJLS UK chart topper She makes me wantby Kelly Rowland Down for anything and Eurovision Song Contest 2018 finalist by Greek artist Eleni Foureira Fuego.
Sky has also contributed singles to One Direction, British rapper Dizzee Rascal, Mexican pop artist Paulina Rubio, Swedish collective Neiked and Norwegian duo Madcon.
In a separate deal, Mojo acquired full songwriting and publishing rights and royalties to recorded music from Bruce Belland, founder and lead singer of pop vocal group The Four Preps.
The Preps, who signed for Capitol Records, while still in high school, was a vocal group known for their four-part harmonies and live comedy performances.
Between 1956 and 1964, they charted several singles, including their top five pop and R&B hits. 26 miles (Santa Catalina) And Big man with Below the station, I have a daughter And A letter to the Beatles.
Belland has also written singles for the Barron Knights, Lee Hazelwood and Lutricia McNeal. The Preps made numerous film and television appearances as actors and performers, including Sandra Dee-Cliff Robertson’s 1959 beach classic Gidget and spent four years as Ricky Nelson’s backing band in the long-running sitcom Ozzie & Harriet.
Belland, while continuing to write and perform with various versions of the Four Preps throughout the 90s, became a successful television producer and network executive and is set to publish two books chronicling his career.
The full catalog deal with Omar Lyefook, an English artist who Mojo says is “credited with launching the Neo Soul sound in the UK”, saw the company acquire his songwriting shares and a stake majority in its edition.
Lyefook emerged in the early 90s with their first single There’s nothing like it. Over the course of several albums released in the 90s, he landed six more UK singles, including Outside, Keep Steppin, Saturday and Say Nothin.
He famously collaborated with American soul icons such as Lamont Dozier, Leon Ware, Angie Stone and Stevie Wonder. Beyond music, Lyefook began an acting career in 2009, joining the cast of the musical Been So Long and continuing to appear in several BBC dramas and comedies. Last year he landed a role in one of Britain’s daytime dramas, Eastenders.
Finally, Mojo signed deals with Blake Healy and Anthony Improgo, the keyboardist and drummer of West Coast pop/rock band Metro Station, acquiring their songwriting and publishing interests in all of the songs on the debut album. self-titled band in 2007, including worldwide success. shake itas well as its follow-up seventeen forever.
The recent round of deals follows an active 2022 in which Mojo landed publishing deals with Country Music Hall Of Famer Sharon Vaughn, award-winning writer/artist Roberta Flack and Rita Coolidge. a Grammy winner, pop singer/songwriter Tommy Roe, soul duo Jerry and Katreese Barnes. , members of R&B/funk group Ready For The World, DJ/producer John Borger, and Nine Days lead singer and main songwriter John Hampson.
“As we approach our fifth anniversary, we are deeply honored that our success in thoughtfully promoting veteran songwriters and their songs continues to attract some of the world’s most influential music creators to our Mojo family. “
Mark Fried, Mojo Music and Media
Mojo Co-Founder and CEO Mark Fried said, “As we approach our fifth anniversary, we are deeply honored that our success in thoughtfully promoting veteran songwriters and their songs continues to attract some of the world’s most influential music creators in our Mojo. family.
“The Mojo catalog, which now boasts nearly 700 chart hits, including 250 Top 10s spanning nine decades, is proudly one of the most diverse and chart-topping collections in the independent publishing space.
“We couldn’t be more excited to represent the collective works of Warren, Teddy, Bruce, Omar, Blake and Ant, always beloved by fans around the world, and we look forward to reinvigorating them through everything from covers faithful and genre-breaking tweens to trailerized remixes, ubiquitous syncs and guerrilla social media campaigns.
Warren Cuccurullo said: “It’s funny, but I thought I would be in touch with a company like Mojo soon after I left Duran Duran in the early 2000s. 11 solo albums and 22 years later, it is now a reality.
“My life’s work is in their hands and I couldn’t be more excited about the future. Thank you to everyone who helped make this partnership a reality!
Bruce Belland added: “I thanked Santa last year for the gift of meeting Mark and the Mojo team and for what grew into a quick friendship with such a positive vibe.
“How fortunate for this longtime singer to partner with people dedicated to helping guys like me carry on their legacy. I’m grateful, not only for what they’ve already done, but for what I’m going to do. away in the days to come.
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